Pokémon: The Original Shipping (Red X Blue)
by BLwritten
Summary: Seven years after the events of Pokémon Red and Blue, two old rivals meet face to face once again, only this time it's not for battle, but rather something more... When past and secret feelings towards one another begin to surface on their short journey together, will these two Battle Legends use the time they have left together, before going on their separate paths, count? Or will
1. Lv 1: After Defeat

"No! That can't be! You beat my best! After all that work to become League Champ? My reign is over already? It's not fair!"

In less than a day, I had reached the top only to be shoved back down to the very bottom. Everything I had worked for was now in ruins before my eyes.

"Why? Why did I lose? I never made any mistakes raising my Pokémon..."

As much as I couldn't believe what had just happened, it didn't change the fact that I had just lost to such a pathetic trainer. I'd beaten him at just about everything , and yet he had somehow managed to come out of nowhere and win when it actually mattered. _If anything, he just gotten lucky,_ I kept telling myself, trying to make sense of all this. It was probably at this moment that I knew I could never show just how crushed about this I really was. Trying to go down with my dignity still intact, I knew I'd have to suck it up and congratulate him.

"Darn it!" Looking up at the illuminated, reinforced ceiling of the Champion Room, I refused to face that wide-eyed twerp jumping up with joy in front of me. "You're the new Pokémon League champion! Although I don't like to admit it..."

Before I knew it, gramps showed up, late as usual, to kicking me while I was down. He also took the time to congratulate Red, but only after lecturing me about "trust and love". _Like that would ever help me._ Gramps escorted Red inside the Pokémon Hall of Fame, leaving me behind. _This sucks!_

As Red walked passed me though, our eyes met for a brief moment, and I suddenly felt immobilized. Somehow, it was like looking at an entirely different person. Something about him was different now, something I was finally realizing, but at the same time I tried not to make anything more of it. It wouldn't be too hard to ignore these strange feelings either, seeing as how that would be the last time I would see Red for a very long time.

 **...**

Sometime after my embarrassing defeat at the Indigo League, I received a promising call from Viridian City, an offer to become the city's new Gym Leader. The position was currently vacant, and the city wanted to make sure they kept the reputation for owning the toughest Gym in Kanto. Naturally, they asked me to fill in, and it was for that reason only that I accepted their offer.

Years went by and I easily proved I was up to the challenge, defeating trainer after trainer, only occasionally being bested by someone who got lucky. My skills and knowledge of battling were continuously tested, but it soon became clear that there was only so much I could get out from this job. Battle after battle, win or lose, there was always something missing.

Whenever the chance came up, I took it upon myself to leave the Gym and travel around the region to train, explore or simply relax, hoping to find something... else. Eventually I figured out that being a Gym Leader wasn't going to cut it anymore, no matter how good I was at it. It was time for me to face a new challenge.


	2. Lv 2: Daisy

With the last of my things loaded off the truck, I closed the door and made my way up to the front to thank Primo, an old "friend" who had volunteered to help me move my stuff back to Pallet Town.

"Sure you got everythin' Blue?" The guy with long sideburns, wearing a tight muscle shirt, asked. "Sure you don't need help taking things inside your sister's place?"

"No thanks, Poke Dude. I got it covered." A shrug signaled the six Pokémon I had with me to start moving the large, heavier boxes into the garage. Primo had been a lot of help, but the sooner he left, the better.

"Kay then, Blue. I guess this is goodbye. You take care now, and if you ever need anything," he took a quick second to smirk and wink at me, "just call."

"Sure thing..." I replied, ignoring his cheesy move on me. "Say thanks to your gramps for me, and tell him to stay off the road. Smell ya later!"

As the truck turned right, up towards Route 1, my older sis stepped out of her small home with a cup of Tea and a glass of Lemonade in hand.

"Blue! Blue!" She began crying out loud, taking a seat at the small table set up on her porch. "Come here! Why don't you all take a break?"

It seemed like a decent time for a break, so I joined my sis on the porch thinking nothing of it.

"So..." Daisy began to ask, while gently blowing on her Tea, "who was that muscly guy who brought your things here?"

 _I should have known better._

"What does it matter to you?" The Lemonade was cool and refreshing, but not enough to get me to start opening up about my personal life with her all of sudden. "He's just a friend."

"Just a friend?" She giggled and rolled her eyes, waiting for me to understand what she was implying and then react. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! Just a friend, Daisy!" And like that, I walked right into her trap. "What would make you think otherwise?"

"Oh, no reason..." she continued to giggle just to Spite me. "Oh, lighten up, little bro. I'm only teasing. But you have to admit, you can't blame me. It's not like you've ever introduced me to one of your girlfriends or anything. In fact, as far as I know, you've never had one. So what do you expect me to think?"

"Ugh! Whatever, Daisy. I've been too busy for a girlfriend, as if that's any of your concern. You think being the strongest Gym Leader in Kanto is a walk in the tall grass."

"Really? Because I hear all the time about how you're hardly ever at your Gym anymore. I have no idea where you go, what you do or who you're with when you're not there. For all I know..."

The conversation ended there. My Glare wasn't enough to paralyze her, but managed to get her to back off. Gulping down the rest of the Lemonade, I rushed back to work hoping to clear my head. The last thing I wanted to do was to talk to my sister about anything, especially about what she was implying.

Back in the garage, my Pokémon and I continued to organize most of my junk in order to get it all to fit neatly inside. It wasn't long, however, before Daisy finished her Tea and approached to "try" and help put the rest of the things away.

"What stuff are you going to keep up in your room?" She asked, snooping through my things, as usual. I pointed to some of the smaller boxes with old books and magazines next to me. "Ooh! Is this an old _Pokémon Journal_?"

I looked over to see what was stalling her only to find her skimming through the old magazine I had decided to keep with me all these years.

"Hey, I remember this issue! It was all about Red's defeat on Mt. Silver-"

 _ **~ RING! RING! ~**_

Pulling out my phone, I quickly stepped aside to answer.

"Who is it Blue?" Daisy asked, still flipping through the pages of the old magazine.

"It's Gramps."


	3. Lv 3: Gramp's Lab

There was no need to rush over there. I was in no hurry to get to Gramp's Lab, and it wasn't like he'd never arrived late to anything himself before either. _Yeah right._ Taking my time also meant less time spent around Daisy. I loved my sis, but she was just so annoying sometimes.

 _Wow, things really have changed around here, haven't they_? I thought to myself, looking around at the new neighborhood on my way through some of the freshly paved streets in Pallet.

I had been gone from home longer than I had thought. The once small and quiet farming town had sprawled into a massive suburban area. There used to only be a couple houses every here and there, all separated by fields and prairies. Now, there were houses stretching from Route 1 to Gramp's Lab, which was still located at the southern edge of the town.

 _Things really have changed, except for one thing..._

As much as I hated to admit it, Daisy made a good point, which got me thinking. _A girlfriend? Had the thought ever crossed my mind at all before?_ I knew the real reason wasn't because I was too busy, not that anybody else needed to know that. The answer was obvious, but it just wasn't the time to be dealing with that right now.

"Hmph. Like there are even any girls that seem interested in me right now anyways."

Barging through the green metal door of the large, yellow-brick building, I let myself inside the Lab without much thought to it.

"Gramps, I'm-"

Thanks to my careless and loud intrusion, I bumped into a girl, about my age, nearly dropping her to the ground. It also seemed as if I had frightened her because she stood completely still, covering the lower half of her pink face with a clipboard, without saying a word. The white lab coat she wore told me she was probably just another one of Gramps aides, not one I was familiar with though.

"Ah, Blue! You're here." Gramps walked in, placing a metal try with three small Poke Balls on the table as he made his way over to greet me. "It's good to see you're doing well."

"Of course I am." I replied, noticing that his aide was still staring at me, Frozen, all red in the face.

"Oh, Blue! This is my new assistant, Daphne White. Daphne, you of course already know my grandson, Blue."

 _She does?_

"Oh, I'm so sorry." She hesitantly began to speak. "Hello, it's nice to meet you."

"Uh, nice to meet you too." I told her, simply out of politeness. Thankfully Gramps also sensed the awkwardness looming around us, chuckling to himself before moving things along.

"Come on Blue, we have a lot to talk about."

 **...**

"Are you sure you'll remember all this? You won't forget at the last minute, will you?" Gramps asked me for the billionth time.

"Don't worry about it Gramps." It wasn't Team Rocket science, granted it was a lot to keep track of.

"So I'll have all the equipment ready and loaded on the truck by tomorrow morning. Once you get to the port on Route 21, take the ferry down to New Cinnabar Island. Deliver everything, unharmed, to the new Pokemon Lab. You should be able to find Blaine there, explain to him how to set up the equipment like I showed you, and then you should be all set to go."

"Blaine? The Gym Leader?"

"Why yes. He's in charge of the construction and development of the new lab." Gramps turned towards me, handing me back one of six Poke Balls from his Pokémon Scanner, "are you sure you only want to take one Pokémon with you?"

Taking one last look at the other five, I let out a low sigh.

"Yes. I'm not going to another region to compete in battles, though it would be a piece of cake if I did. I'm going to study. Just one will do. The rest will be better off here with you."

"That's very wise and mature of you Blue. I'm most impressed, and so proud." Gramps congratulated me.

"Well, I should probably get going." I excused myself, rushing over towards the exit. "I still have to figure out what to pack and what else to leave behind."

"Well, good luck with that, and be sure that both you and your sister stop by my house later for dinner."

"Sure thing, Gramps. Smell ya later!"


	4. Lv 4: A Long Time

You just don't know how much you love something until you've lost it, or go a long time without it. I had forgotten just how good food could be, and Gramp's cooking was the best by far. Because I never had time to waste learning to cook, I usually just ate at restaurants. Viridian City had many decent establishments, but none that served food better than Gramps. Daisy had never been the best cook either, so even back then, before I was on my own, Gramp's food had been a blessing.

Normally, I would have waited for everyone to be served before eating, but I couldn't help myself. There also seemed to be an extra dish and silverware out for somebody who hadn't even arrived yet, despite the food already being hot and ready.

"Who's coming?" I asked out loud, trying not to talk with my mouth full.

"Oh, I've invited a special guest to dine with us, if you two don't mind." Gramps replied, bringing out more food from the kitchen.

"Not at all, especially if it's that new aide of yours grandfather," Daisy giggled, nudging my shoulder for some reason. "Blue, have you met grandfather's new aide?"

"As a matter of fact," Gramps replied, taking a seat at the table, "he has."

"Who? The Daphne chick?" I asked, completely out of the loop.

"So what do you think, Blue?" Daisy continued giggling in her seat.

"Think of what?" I asked, just wanting to enjoy a meal without Daisy annoying me for once.

"You know, Blue, Daphne's got quite a little crush on you." Gramps explained.

Leave it to him to put something like that so straight forward. Suddenly I was choking on the food I had been drooling over just a moment ago.

"Oh, the two of you would look so cute together!" Daisy cried out, hugging me tight and imagining the whole thing in her head. "So, is Daphne coming over this evening?"

"Unfortunately, no." Gramps replied, which was actually pretty fortunate for me. "She was busy this evening, I'm afraid. Though I'm sure that would have made for an _even more_ interesting evening."

"What a shame." Daisy nudged me on my shoulder again. "Come on, tell me. What did you think of her?"

"What do you mean, _what did I think of her_?" I was beginning to raise my voice for no reason. "What does it matter, anyways? I'm leaving tomorrow!"

Both Daisy and Gramps said nothing and stared back at me with blank expressions. For a second there, I thought it had been something I had said, so I stopped to think about it. Distracted by my own confusion, I was caught off guard when I suddenly felt two hands fall heavily onto my shoulders. A warm breath by my right ear then said in a ghoulish voice, "GET OUT! LEAVE THIS PLACE!" Again, I was caught off guard. That's the only reason it caused me to leap out of my seat the way I did.

After snapping out of the sudden flashback from when I was a kid, I realized who the twerp who had frightened me really was. I had only gotten a brief look at his face, but it had been enough to Paralyze me. The next thing I knew, I got up, without a word, and sat back in my seat quietly. I couldn't even make eye contact with him. I just stared down at my half-empty plate as he made his way around me to greet Gramps.

"Red? How'd you get in?" Gramps quickly stood up to welcome him.

"Front door was open. I would've knocked first, but I heard Blue yelling and decided to surprise my old friend, for old time sake."

"Red! It's so good to see you!" Now Daisy stood up to greet him, running over towards him and giving him a huge hug as if she really knew him that well. "Why, I haven't seen you since you returned that map you borrowed from me. Look at you! You're so tall and handsome."

Both Gramps and Daisy seemed so glad to see Red. As for me...

 _How do I feel about seeing him again?_

"Blue," Red turned to me, taking the seat next to mine, "I can't believe it's been such a long time since we last saw each other."


	5. Lv 5: Another Surprise

Of all the people in the Pokémon World, why did Red have to be the one to show up tonight, of all nights? And what did he mean when he said I was his "old friend"? We were rivals. That would never change. I couldn't even listen to him, as he went on and on about his many adventures traveling to different regions, encountering and capturing different Pokémon.

 _Since when is he this chatty?_

Gramps and Daisy were fine eating that stuff up, but I wasn't. Suddenly, I had lost my appetite, and whatever food was left in my plate was getting colder than an Icy Wind. I knew I had to stop being so pouty about the whole thing, at least on the outside, but I couldn't help myself. There was just something about being around Red again that was so aggravating, so annoying, that just made me go crazy.

"It was a bit of an embarrassing defeat, I'll admit," Red continued talking, "but the kid did show a lot of potential. I'm just glad we were both able to climb back down Mt. Silver without getting lost or Frozen."

"Wow, Red, that's so impressive. Did you hear that Blue?" Daisy tossed a grain of rice from her plate at me. "Red seems to have been doing real well on his own, wouldn't you agree?"

She was only trying to push me to the edge, and it worked.

"Yeah, doesn't sound _that_ great to me." I stupidly replied, sounding like a pathetic twerp myself.

"I'm sure you've got your own adventures to share Blue." Red said, trying to help me out, which only ticked me off even more. "I'm sure you've traveled a lot as well."

"Not really," I hated to admit, "but then again, it's real difficult to travel when you're running a Gym."

"Liar! Liar!" Daisy replied, giving me reason to throw bits of my own food at her.

"Knock it off you two." Gramps stepped in, shifting his attention back to Red. "Now, Red, I was wondering if you've made up your mind yet about what were discussing earlier."

"Sure have, Professor. I'd be happy to help anyway I can."

 _What were they talking about now?_ A gut feeling told me I should listen to what they were saying.

"That's great! Well then, Blue, I guess I have another little surprise for you." "Red will be accompanying you on your trip to New Cinnabar Island tomorrow."

"WAIT! WHAT?! WHY?"

 _He wasn't actually being serious, was he? No, he had to be joking._ _When had I agreed to this?_

"Fantastic!" Daisy cheered at my despair. "Now you can look after my little bro, Red, and make sure he makes it there in one piece for me."

"Shut it Daisy!" I had had just about enough. "What do you mean Red's coming with me Gramps?"

"Red was planning on heading down to New Cinnabar Island too, so I asked him if he could help out at the new Pokémon Lab." Gramps explained, the mastermind behind this huge mistake. "I've already talked to Blaine about it too and everything."

"Sorry about telling you at the last minute," Red dared apologizing to me. "I was actually just planning on going there for a short vacation. It seemed like the perfect place to go, close to home, but still by a sandy, white beach and resort. Then Professor Oak mentioned the new lab when we were talking earlier, and I thought it would be neat to help out."

"Okay fine, but why do you have to travel with _me_?"

Something about the way I said that to him seemed to catch him off guard, as his face went from delight back to serious. It almost made me regret and apologize to him, though I was too mad to do something like that.

"Oh don't be so rude," Daisy butted in, as if she knew what this meant to me.

"It was my idea Blue," Gramps admitted, hoping to take some of the heat off of Red. "I thought it would be a good idea. You know, to have someone there to keep you company."

"Red, can't you just Fly there on your own or something?" I asked him, unable to look directly at him.

"Well yeah, I guess so. But I was also sort of hoping to give my Pokémon a break by leaving them here with Professor Oak. They deserve a good vacation too, and Charizard is actually still pretty tired after flying all the way here from—"

"Ugh! Whatever." I was done arguing and simply gave up trying.

 _Why am I over reacting like this, like it is really that big of a deal?_ My fists were shaking with nervous tension. We may have been rivals, but I didn't actually hate him that much. _Did I?_ So why was I getting all worked up about traveling alone with him?


	6. Lv 6: Blue is Confused!

While Daisy was busy helping Gramps with the dishes, probably just chatting away like she always was, I waited for her outside on the porch. This night was nothing like I had expected. I definitely hadn't expected Red to come popping in out of nowhere like that. My last night in Kanto, my last night home, was now ruined, all thanks to Red. Honestly, it was probably a little bit of my own fault, but Red had been the one who had started it. He was the one causing it.

Now I had to put up with that twerp a little while longer, only a bit longer, but more than I had bargained for. _Wasn't it bad enough that I hadn't seen him for so long after he left?_ Now I was suddenly going to travel with him, just the two of us, at least for a short while until it was my turn to leave.

 _Wait, what?_

My mind didn't seem to be thinking straight. The problem wasn't missing him, it was seeing him again. This whole situation was now messing with my head, because he was the one who had crushed my dreams all those years ago, not because I had missed him.

 _Wait, what the hell am I thinking?_

Tapping the side of my head to clear my thoughts, I actually began hurting myself in my confusion, thanks to Red. It was what he was best at.

"Blue."

I quickly snapped out of confusion, to see what the twerp wanted now.

 _Whoa!_ I suddenly thought to myself when I finally got a good look at him. _He's gotten... taller..._

"Just wanted to let you know, I really am sorry about all this," he began his sincere apology to me. "If it really means that much to you, I could find my own way to Cinnabar-"

"Wait no!" I blurted out, buying right into it. "Ugh, what I mean is... feel free to tag along, if you want. It's really not that big of a deal. I was just not expecting it is all."

His serious face suddenly lit up again with a faint smile.

"Good to hear you say that. Then I guess you won't mind if I do tag along with you tomorrow?" He replied, joining me by leaning against the railing next to me. "I really could use a break from surfing, flying and traveling on foot all the time. My Running Shoes are all worn out now."

"What happened to your bike?" I asked, trying to make conversation and still not to look at him directly, for some reason.

"Oh, that old thing," he laughed. "I left it back home when I left. Thought I wouldn't miss it. Boy was I wrong."

And there he was going at it again, talking all about his amazing journey, only rubbing everything I had missed out on right to my face. But he seemed to quickly pick up on my discomfort and found a way to change the subject to focus on me instead.

"So... I hear you're going to study abroad." _Why was he being so kind?_ "Professor Oak told me all about it, and to tell you the truth, I didn't know you were really all that into learning about Pokémon science. What made you want to do it?"

It was none of Gramps business telling Red about my plans, but the interest in Red's face got to me. It was true that my decision had seemed to come out of nowhere, and Red was one of the few that actually seemed to care why. Not even Daisy had really asked me why, she had just gone with it.

"Of course you wouldn't have known. Before you left I was busy training and battling. Then I was busy running a Gym. I've only recently made the decision to leave this place and learn about that kind of stuff." I explained, recapping my own, less adventurous, journey.

"Really? What stuff?"

"Well..." _Why am I getting so nervous?_ "I was thinking about studying Pokémon Genetics, but... I'm not entirely sure yet."

"Hmm? Professor Blue Oak. Has a nice ring to it."

I shouldn't have taken the complement and said something smart back at him, but I couldn't. My animosity towards the twerp had suddenly vanished, and then it occurred to me: _Had we ever had a decent conversation like this before?_ I guess I was always so busy looking down on him, that I had never really given him the chance to talk. Now I sort of had no choice but to look up at him, literally.

Just as everything was going well, Daisy was getting ready to come out of the house. I could hear her saying goodbye to Gramps from the screen door.

"Looks like I'm about to go," I told Red, heading out myself. "Make sure you're at Gramps' Lab first thing in the morning."

"Don't worry about me Blue. I'll be there on time." I started making my way towards the fence when Red cried out behind me. "Hey Blue, smell ya later!"


	7. Lv 7: Early Bird

For some strange reason, that I didn't really question, I was at the beach, walking along the smooth, white sandy terrain. The sun was hot and shining brightly, just another warm, Sunny Day like any other. I found the perfect spot under the shade of a strange palm tree to relax by. From there I watched a little girl playing in the distance. She was young, about five or so, and wore a pinkish swimsuit. She splashed around in the shallow water, laughing and crying out as the waves reached her chubby legs.

Then, from the corner of my eye, I spotted Red making his way over towards me, but he suddenly stopped to look at the same little girl. He stood there, his arm over his hips, wearing nothing more than his red swim trunks and hat that blocked out the sun from his eyes. His smooth, pale skin was exposed, and I got a good look at his surprisingly fit body. Even from a distance, I could see his well defined abs. It was the first time I saw him without a shirt on, and yet it didn't even feel that way.

"Honey, be careful!" He cried out at the little girl, who replied with giggles and more laughter. "Violet! Stay where I can see you!"

"Okay daddy!" She replied, going back to her fun in the water.

Red turned back to me and smiled, casually walking back over towards me and laying down right next to me.

For some strange reason, I didn't panic when he did it either, or act weird about him grabbing my arm and pulling me closer towards. Resting my head on his bare chest, I could feel his smooth, soft skin against my mine, all while we both looked out at the little girl.

"Your daughter is going to get stung by a Tentacool." He warned me, pulling as I playfully stole his hat to try it on for myself. "Tell her to get out of the water."

"She'll be fine," I finally spoke, casually reassuring Red to lighten up. "Blastoise is out there with her. He'll defend her if one of those wild, Jellyfish Pokémon appears."

Out of nowhere, Blastoise appeared in the water with the little girl, who was now climbing on top of him as if to Surf on its back.

"If only it could always be like this... it's so relaxing." Red quietly spoke out loud.

I raked through his brown, silky hair, caressed his cheek and picked his chin up so that he would open his eyes and look at me.

"Who says it can't." I told him, blushing a bit when he opened one eye to look at me and then smiled.

"Well, if you want it to stay this way, just leave it to me then." He said, with a charming and confident tone of voice. "I'll make your wish come true."

We both began to move in closer for a kiss, but a loud, obnoxious sound running toward us stopped us from pursuing. For some strange reason, a brown, Triple Bird Pokémon now stood right in front of us, a wild Dodrio had appeared. Even without knowing exactly where I was, I knew this was strange because we were obviously not in any kind of Grassland habitat.

 _So what is one of them doing here?_

Before I could think about it any further, each head opened its beak and let out an enormous Screech. Their Uproar was so loud that it woke me right up.

...

I landed on my face and realized I was running late. If the neighbor's Dodrio hadn't let out its morning cry just now, who knows when I would have gotten up. Having been so busy last night pre-packing, so that I wouldn't be late the next day, I had forgotten to set up an alarm.

"Shit!" As quickly as I possibly could, I threw off all my clothes, ran into the shower, got dressed in the clothes I had laid out the night before, grabbed the rest of my stuff and headed downstairs. I had no time, or stomach, for Daisy's awful breakfast, and spent most of my time just trying to say goodbye to her.

"Oh, I'm going to miss you so much little bro!" Daisy cried out. "This was too short. Promise me you'll call more frequently, okay."

"Okay! Okay!" I shouted out, trying to escape her clutches. "I promise sis. Could you let go of me now?"

After our goodbyes, I was off. Looking at my phone, I still had a slight chance to make it there on time. All I knew was that I had to get to Gramp's Lab before Red did. In my hurry to beat him there, I didn't think about why, I just had to be first. It wasn't until I got half way there that I started to think about my dream from earlier, no matter how hard I tried to forget it.

 _Really? Violet?_ I thought to myself, embarrassingly making my way up the steps up to Gramp's lab.


	8. Lv 8: A New Rivalry

"Gramps, I'm-"

Once again, my carelessness caused me to bump into someone as I rushed inside the lab, only this time it wasn't Daphne who I bumped into, it was Red, and this time, I hadn't almost dropped him, I actually did. Falling on top of him myself, I froze, and a long awkward silence followed. Words wouldn't come out of my mouth and I began wishing I had a clipboard to cover the lower half of _my_ pink face.

"Blue?" Red chuckled, as if I hadn't knocked him down or wasn't crushing him with my weight. "You're late."

"I, uh..." I started mumbling.

"Hey, I'm just glad you're here." He said, picking himself up.

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah," he explained, reaching out his hand to help me up, "I was beginning to worry something had happened to you. I almost went out looking for you."

His kindness was getting on my nerve, that's why my face had turned so red. I was just embarrassed I had knocked him over and made myself look like a klutz. But I managed to swallow my pride and reach out for his hand, until Daphne had to walk in and interrupt us.

"BLUE!" She rushed to my side and helped me up before I could take Red's hand. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I had no problem speaking to her. "It's my fault. I fell."

"Okay. Good." She smiled at me, before blushing and looking away for a second. "Ar-are you hungry? I could make you something before you have to go."

If my stomach hadn't let out a Growl, I would have passed, but I took her on her kind offer. "Sure."

"What would you like?" She asked me eagerly, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the kitchen lounge. "Are Oran Berry cakes okay?"

"Uh, sure. Sounds great." I replied, letting her drag me away, but then I remembered Red was still in the room.

I looked back at him before Daphne and I entered the kitchen. He looked back at me, similar to the same way he had the first time I had beat him in a battle, defeated.

Daphne was kind, but clingy, and I hardly knew her. As she cooked, she stared at me and smiled, asking me one pointless question after another. Red just sat quietly next to me. He normally was pretty silent, but this behavior just seemed odd to me for some reason.

 _Maybe he's just shy around strangers? Or maybe..._

"Here you go Blue." Daphne said, as she served me her home cooked meal.

 _You have to joking_ , I thought to myself as I moved around what little I found on the plate. I needed more than this, but I said nothing. I took a bite out of it though and ate my words as well.

"Wow! This is delicious!"

"Thanks!" Daphne replied, when Red suddenly stood up.

"Blue, would you like me to get you something else to go with that?" Red asked me, beginning to cook me up a second meal before I could answer.

The tension in the room suddenly changed, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Once Red started cooking, Daphne took the opportunity to take the seat next to me and watch me as I stuffed the rest of her food down my throat. Red looked back at me a couple times while I ate, but said nothing until he was finished. He served me a bowl with a side of fish and waited for me to try some.

"This is good, thanks Red." I didn't think I had said anything wrong, but Red acted as if I had spit it out.

"Oh," he replied before taking a seat across from me. Suddenly his face had gone from serious to kind of aggravated.

"Blue! Red!" Gramps called from the back door. "Come on you two, it's time to go."

Red was first to stand up. He barely said goodbye to Daphne and followed Gramps outback. He seemed down, and I wanted to say or do something, for some strange reason, but honestly didn't know what I could do. Then Daphne pulled me aside and hugged me out of nowhere.

"Goodbye Blue. Take care." She took out a letter from her back and handed it to me. "Here, I wrote you something..."

I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing and took it. Gramps began calling out for me, so I stuffed the letter in my back pocket on my way out.


	9. Lv 9: Trainer Red wants to battle!

"Everything is loaded on the truck and ready to be delivered." Gramps explained, dangling the keys in front of me, but taking them out of my reach just before I could swipe them from him. "Do you have your ticket for the ferry?"

"Uh?" Searching like crazy, with little luck, Gramps saved me the trouble by taking my ticket out of his pocket. "Oh yeah, guess I forgot about it, ha."

"Yes, well just to be sure, I'll go ahead and let Red be in charge of carrying them."

 _Seriously?_

I rushed over to the driver seat and started up the truck, waiting for Red to finish saying his goodbyes. He seemed to be taking forever and that's when I figured Gramps must have begun going over the plans with Red to make sure somebody would remember that too. It wasn't my fault I was suddenly being so forgetful and sloppy. I knew that, somehow, it was all Red's fault I was acting like this. I would have been more annoyed by it, had something else not been bugging me.

Red finally got into the passenger seat and we made our way out of Pallet down and into Route 21. Five minutes in, neither one of us said a world. With not even a radio to keep us entertained, things got silent and awkward fast.

Eventually, I felt I just had to say something. Just like old times, I always was the first to open my big mouth.

"Are you alright?" I asked Red, hoping he'd at least say something.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Why?"

"Uh, no reason..." I started panicking, trying to think of something else to say. "You just seem kind of... down?"

"No, no. I'm fine." He said, showing no emotion on his face, though I could tell he was cringing on the inside, but still without clue as to why. "I'm just regretting not having eaten anything myself before we left."

"So you're hungry? If that's the case, you should have just said something. We have food in the back if you want."

"No, I'm fine I can wait til lunch." Red reassured me, completely contradicting himself.

"Maybe you should have tried some of Daphne's cakes when you had the chance," I told him, not think much about it. "They were pretty good."

I honestly had no idea what was Red's problem with me now. It looked as if something I said had made him angry. With his arms folded, and staring straight at the road, he stayed quiet. At first I was afraid things would get quiet again, but I think I would have preferred that.

"So, how long do you know Daphne?" He asked me out of nowhere.

"What's it to you?" I replied, getting a bit agitated myself. _Who does he think he is to talk to me like that all of a sudden?_

"It's just a question." He replied, a bit aggressively to my surprise. "It shouldn't be too difficult for you to answer."

"I just met her yesterday. Why do you care?"

"Ha." He suddenly laughed to himself.

 _What's so funny?_

"What?"

"Nothing," he replied looking out the window. "You know she likes you, right?"

I almost crashed the truck when I hit the brakes.

"So what if she does?" I asked, turning off the car to get to the bottom of Red's strange behavior. "What is up with you? Why are you acting like such a twerp?"

"Twerp? Wow, I haven't heard you call me that in a while. Yup, not since back in the good old days..."

Red stopped for a moment and looked off into the distance. I sat back and joined him in that moment of silence, trying to figure out what we were even arguing about. He seemed to calm down and relax, but still seemed bummed.

"No, seriously Red, what's wrong?"

"Why do you care?" Red replied.

"I just do."

He looked back at me and I regretted saying anything. The wrong words had come out of my mouth. In a rush to forget about it, I started up the truck again to get us moving, but found the truck wouldn't budge.

After quickly checking the truck, I found no way of fixing it. Walking up to the glass, I signaled Red to come out for the bad news.

"I hope you brought you Running Shoes."


	10. Lv 10: Friend or Foe?

With no luck fixing the truck, I called Gramps to figure out a different solution to my problem. Naturally, I tried to avoid telling him about the friction between Red and me, but somehow Gramps had already anticipated it and was ready to lecture me about it.

"You know, you two have always managed to push each other towards achieving each other's goals. I never understood why you two were always rivals and never friends." I was so close to tossing my phone into the tall grass, but was honestly a bit curious about what he had to say. "You know, I remember back when I first went on a journey, I too had a rivalry with someone I knew as a child, but were more than that... we were also friends—"

"What are you trying to get at Gramps?"

"I just mean that I know what it's like to be in your position. I understand more than you know. Try making friends with Red, and try to listen to him for a change."

"Ugh," I grunted back at him. "Sure, fine."

After the long chat with Gramps, I walked back to Red who was already packed and ready to travel on foot.

"How will we get the bigger stuff to the ferry?" He asked, eager to get moving.

"No problem." I assured him, taking a step forward. "Leave it to me. Come on out, Blastoise!"

The only trouble we had was getting all the stuff onto Blastoise's back and strapping them down so that they wouldn't fall off as he walked. Using Blastoise's Strength, we moved the truck to the side of the road where it wouldn't disturb anyone.

"Are you sure it's okay to just leave a truck in the middle of nowhere?" Red asked, glancing back as we started moving forward.

"Eh, it wouldn't be the first. Besides, I already called Gramps and he's sending someone down to fix it and take it back."

Usually I enjoyed a good hike, but when I was alone or with my Pokémon, not with another person, especially such an annoying and irritating one. Shortly after we continued our journey on foot, things got quiet again, and this time, I was determined not to have it stay quiet for long. Without the truck, our trip would take longer. We probably wouldn't reach the port on Route 21 until sundown at the slow pace we were going. Blastoise wasn't that fast of a Pokemon either, and less with all the heavy equipment on its back. There was no way I was about to bare all this awkward silence for that long. I just had to keep swallowing my pride if I wanted to change things.

"Red," I said out loud, a bit too loudly.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry, about earlier." _I hated this_. "Let's not fight this whole trip, okay?"

"Uh, sure." Red smiled back, suddenly full of joy again.

It was irritating, the way he looked back at me, but I also couldn't help but feel a bit proud of getting him to cheer up, even if I wasn't entirely sure what he was so happy about.

"Wow, back on foot, traveling down to Route 21, sort of reminds me of my first journey through Kanto..." Red began reminiscing, nudging me on the shoulder. "It took me forever to get anywhere, and you always seemed to beat me. How'd you do it?"

"Easy, I mostly road on the backs of my Pokémon. Blastoise got me across water, Pidgeot through the skies, and Arcanine on land. They were all in tip-top shape, so I was able to quickly get anywhere I wanted."

"Hmm, in hindsight, I probably could have road more of my Pokémon too, would have been a lot faster. I wish I had brought some with me now. You're really smart Blue."

It was strange to hear Red complement me, and I nearly tripped when he did. Although it wasn't because of what he had said, it had just been a very rocky terrain we were in is all. My face turned so red that I was sure it matched the color of his hat.

"You know," Red continued, "I have to admit, I always looked up to you. I mean, don't get me wrong, you were kind of a jerk on our first journey, but you were never easy to face. You have no idea how surprised I was to see you at the end of the Elite Four. I'll never forget it."

"I was surprised to see you there too, since I didn't expect you'd even get past Lorelei, let alone through Victory Road... but I should have never looked down on you to begin with. I have to admit, you are a great trainer, better than I ever was."

It took so much out of me to say that out loud, that I even got a bit weak in the knees. It wasn't just because Red decided to come up to me and rest his hand on my shoulder either, though it probably had something to do with it.

"Thanks Blue."


	11. Lv 11: What will Blue do?

After walking for a while, Red and I stopped on the side of the road for lunch. Normally I would have swallowed up all of Gramp's food, but couldn't help being on my best behavior all of a sudden. Red ate so casually, almost gracefully, that it made me nervous to even eat in front of him.

"You okay?" He suddenly noticed me, looking back at me with one eyebrow raised.

"Of course I am," I replied, quickly picking up a sandwich and stuffing it in my mouth.

But the look he gave me, a slight grin, caused me to nearly choke on it. In a hast, he ran up towards me with a Bottled Water. I had to Snatch it out of his hand before he got any closer to me.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" I desperately cried out so he'd back off and wouldn't worry.

"Okay, just wanted to make sure." He laughed at me, rustling my hair playfully.

He then proceeded to stand up and stretch for a bit, while all I could do was sit there, completely immobilized. Things only got worse when he decided to stretch his arms up and his shirt lifted up high enough for me to get a good look at his lower abdomen.

I hate to even admit to myself how I couldn't help but stare when it happened.

"Hey, I'm gonna go over there for just a minute," he said pointing over towards a bottom of a nearby cliff and snapping me out of the strange trance I was in. "I'll be right back, try not to choke while I'm gone. Okay?"

"What are you going over there for?" I asked, trying to gain a hold of myself.

"Bathroom."

And that's when I nearly choked again. Fortunately, I had water with me this time to help. Red laughed as he disappeared into the distance, and I took the time to take a deep breath and cool off.

 _DAMN! I have to get a hold of myself. This is really bad. What is up with me?_

The truth was I wasn't completely unaware of my newfound feelings for Red, it just took a lot out of me to even think about it. They weren't that new either, he was all I had thought about after we had gone our separate ways years ago. At first I figured I just hadn't gotten over getting beaten, but soon realized that it was way more than that. Eventually, I couldn't help but hope I'd run into him again, but like I said, years went by and I just had to move on.

 _But I've gotten over him, right?_

"Ugh, this sucks." I grunted to myself, looking around to spot if Red was on his way back, though he was still nowhere in sight. "Odd, he couldn't still be going to the bathroom, could he? Blastoise, stay here and watch our stuff. I'd better go make sure Red hasn't gotten lost or something."

Walking around where I had last seen him, I found no trace of Red anywhere. Gradually, I began to panic inside.

"RED! RED! Where are you?!"

"BLUE!" I heard him cry out my name, causing me to run as fast as I could to find him.

A bit further down, I saw Red standing in some tall grass, cornered by a wild Arbok that had appeared. _Idiot!_ I thought to myself as I ran up to him. _Red, what are you thinking? You should know better than to go running into tall grass without a Pokemon!_

With Blastoise back at our picnic area, I had no Pokémon either to defend myself with, but I ran into the grass regardless. All I knew was that I had to do something before Red got seriously injured. Without even thinking things through, I picked up a handful of rocks and started throwing them at the Arbok in hopes of getting its attention, and unfortunately it worked. Before I knew it, the Arbok had turned around, spotted me and come right for me.

I was a sitting Psyduck, standing there with no rocks, no bait, Pokéballs, or Pokémon to help. If Red hadn't jumped in front of me in time, it would have been me who had gotten injured on the leg by Arbok's Bite attack instead.

"Oh no!" I yelled out, grabbing a hold of Red's heavy body as he fell in front of me.

Fortunately for the both of us, Red still had some food with him. Tossing it far off to the side, the Arbok followed it and ran off with the food in its mouth. I quickly picked up Red and supported him as we hurried out of the tall grass, towards the shade of a nearby tree, before some other wild Pokémon appeared.

"Seriously Red, what were you thinking?" I started yelling at him, checking his wound to make sure it wasn't anything serious. "You should know better than to do something like that."

"Well, you know," he struggled to say, as he tended to his own wound, "I actually had things under control until you showed up and got yourself in danger."

"Don't blame this on me!" I replied with an angry and terrified voice. "You really had me worried back there."

"I did?"

Once again, the wrong words had come out of my mouth, but this time I didn't feel like taking them back. I was just relieved he was okay.

"Yes... you did."

I nearly broke out in tears, simply relieved that we were both okay, that Red was okay. He was wounded, but nothing that wouldn't heal. I was so relieved and shaken up that I almost didn't even notice when Red sat up to kiss me on the cheek.


	12. Lv 12: End of the Road

"Sorry, I didn't mean to..." Red panicked, covering his face with both hands in embarrassment.

I still hadn't been able to react.

 _Did he just..._

Moving his hands out of the way, I leaned in to kiss him myself. It was odd, at first. It took him a while to realize what was happening, and then he started to kiss me back. His lips were so soft, like his skin, just as I had imagined it would be. Pulling back, I stopped to look at him, his face growing red, though probably not as much as mine. It did help make his face a lot more adorable though, and made me want to kiss him some more too.

By now, I was laying completely on top of him, though I was careful not to crush him or his leg where he was hurt. Gradually, his strong arms wrapped around me and he began to kiss me on the neck. I let him, slowly inhaling the scent of his hair, kissing his forehead every so often. Eventually, my hands reached down towards the bottom of his shirt, pulling it up and off of him, so that I could kiss his exposed body.

Feeling just how toned he actually was made me nervous though, so he decided to take the lead. Now he was the one taking my clothes off, gently unbuttoning my black shirt and running his hands against my chest.

I'm ashamed to say I squealed quietly, as if in pain, when he did, which made him immediately stop.

"No," I said out loud, pulling his hands back towards me. "It's okay."

So, with my permission, he continued. He positioned me over him, so he could press his lips against my own, less impressive, lower abdomen. Then, moving up my body unlit he was back up to eye level with me, he kissed me on the lips again and held me closer. His hands felt so warm pressed against my bare skin.

 _This is insane?!_ I thought to myself, but I couldn't help but continue.

It came to a point I couldn't hold myself back anymore. With all the Strength I had in me, I grabbed on to Red and flipped us over so that he could be on top of me. Caressing the back of my thighs, he pulled me up, ready to go all the way with me, right then and there.

Something strange came over me when I opened my eyes and saw him staring down at me. From his eyes alone, I felt that he wanted me all to himself, which I could relate because, at that moment, I wanted him all to myself too.

Who knows what would have happened next, had Blastoies not appeared out of nowhere all of a sudden, crying out in alarm.

"Hey! Anyone out there?" We both heard a man yelling from a distance and panicked.

Freaking out like crazy, we got up and put back on all our clothes. We barely managed to do it just in time too, as a Hiker appeared shortly after.

"Hey! I'm looking for a battle!" He called out when he spotted us.

"Oh, you're about to get one," I replied, furious about the bad timing this guy had. "Blastoise, Hydro Pump!"

...

Things had gotten silent again as we got back on the road, but this time I was completely okay with it. I wouldn't have known what to say anyways.

 _What could I say?_

After the way I had pounced on him like that... there wasn't really an easy way to excuse my behavior now. But the more I thought about it, Red hadn't exactly resisted either. I was seriously going to go crazy over this, and that's when Red, out of nowhere, finally spoke to me again.

"It's okay..."

 _Was it?_

Looking over at Red, he acted as if nothing had happened, so I wasn't sure if he wanted to just forget about the whole thing, or if he was just as confused about it as I was and was trying to help me relax, or worse.

 _And to think, we still have a boat ride to get through together. What'll end up happening then?_

"Look!" Red suddenly cried out, snapping me back into reality. "It's the ferry port. We made it!"

Red happily ran ahead of me. I couldn't blame him, it had been a long day after all. I was ready to run after him, but then one last thought occurred to me.

 _I'm not going to see him for a really long time after this, am I._


	13. Lv 13: All Aboard!

It had been a really long day, but the day was long from over, unfortunately. Shortly after reaching the port on Route 21, Red and I boarded a ferry and settle into one of the rooms. We wouldn't reach New Cinnabar Island until sometime the next morning, which meant that we would have to share a room for the night.

"Just my luck," I whispered to myself, as Red left the room and joined others on the deck. I silently followed behind, hoping we could both just forget about the incident from earlier.

 _Could things get any more awkward between the two of us?_ I asked myself, leaning against the railing on the side of the ferry and staring off into the vast ocean. It was already hard enough to face Red as it was.

 _What the hell was I thinking back there?!_

Looking back at Red, he didn't seem to remember anything at all. Red cheerfully ran up and down the boat, chatting with different trainers who recognized him and wanted his advice. Normally I was the one people crowded around like that, but Red was clearly a bigger deal than I was. Suddenly, I began to get a bit pissed off everyone was giving Red such special treatment.

I wasn't jealous of him though. I could do without all the attention after all. No, I wasn't jealous that Red was getting more attention than me, I was jealous that so many people seemed to want a piece of Red.

"He's mine!" I nearly shouted out loud for them, but luckily caught myself in time to cover my mouth up with both hands.

"Did you say something Blue?" I heard Red call back, as I began to run back to the room.

"Nope," I quickly replied back, running inside and closing the door to my room behind me. "Damn it! I got to get a hold of myself."

Feeling like I'd faint of exhaustion, I lay down in bed and tried to Rest for a while. The sun had gone down, but it was still pretty early in the day. Regardless of that, I almost fell asleep right there, but woke back up when I felt something crumpling up in my back pocket. Sitting back up, I pulled out a letter and examined the envelope. It took me a second, but I finally recognized it and remembered that Daphne had given it to me this morning.

"Huh. Almost forgot about this..."

As I began to read the letter, I quickly lost interest. The poor girl had clearly put a lot of thought and care into writing this, but I couldn't have cared less. Before I even got to the middle of it, I stuffed it back into the envelope and tossed it off to the side like it was nothing.

"What a surprise," I said aloud, ready to head back out and join Red wherever he was. "So she really did feel that way about me after all. Too bad I don't feel the same way... about her, at least."


	14. Lv 14: Swimmer Dean wants to battle!

After my short nap, I decided to go back outside for some fresh air. I expected to find Red still busy with his fans, but things seemed to had quiet down since I had last checked up on him. Most of passengers onboard had actually gone back inside. Only a few trainers were still out on the deck, chatting, battling and training.

"Check out my buff physic!" I heard a guy behind me cry out, and at first I didn't think much of it, but when I turned to see what all the noise was about, I nearly Self-Destructed.

What I turned to find was none other than one of those annoying twink, Swimmer in a Speedo showing off his muscles, but not just to anyone, he was busy showing off to Red.

"WHAT?!"

Red was too shy to say anything, of course, and merely glanced back in confusion. He smiled awkwardly and tried to look away as politely as he could, however, this only seemed to make the Swimmer even more eager to get up and personal with him.

"Back off, asshole!" I finally reached them in time to push the guy off of Red. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Dude! The name is Dean. What's your problem?" He yelled back in frustration, pulling out a Pokéball hanging off the side of his Speedo.

"You really want to battle?" I laughed at the idea. "Fine."

Before I knew it, we made direct eye contact and there was no going back from there. We immediately made room between us and sent out our Pokémon for battle.

"Go, Starmie!" He cried, as he tossed the Pokéball with a flare, still trying to show off to Red.

"Come on out, Blastoise!" I knew this would be no real challenge for me, but all I could think about at the moment was beating this loser and shaming him in front of everybody. "Blastoise, Ice Punch!"

The battle should have been over in one turn, but I miscalculated in my heist and frustration. Before I, or Blastoise, knew it, this guy's Starmie dodged by flinging itself into the air, swirling rabidly like a Greninja's stealthy Water Shuriken attack.

"Ha! Wimpy!" Swimmer Dean cried out. "Starmie, use Thunderbolt!"

His Starmie wasted no time attacking, and there was no way for Blastoise to avoid it with the limited space we had to battle in. It didn't matter though. Blastoise could do more than take a hit, even if it was super effective. Blastosie's minuscule reaction to the attack seemed to catch Dean off guard. Both he and his Pokémon paused for a moment, suddenly realizing who they were messing with. That small delay was all I needed in order to deliver the final blow and put an end to this pointless battle.

"Dragon Pulse."

Blastoise lowered its body and aimed his cannons towards Starmie. Suddenly, a bright, purplish light blasted out of them. The light almost seemed to twirl and dance in the air, forming the faint image of a dragon, just before it reached its target and blasted it with a shock of radiating energy. When the light cleared. Starmie had already fallen over and returned to its Pokéball. Starmie had fainted. I had won the battle.

Many of the people who had just witnessed our battle cheered and awed, but I didn't really pay much attention to them. Instead, I walked up to the Swimmer, who was already preparing to take out his wallet to pay up.

"Forget about the money." I replied, as I walked up to him. "Just get out of here."

"I should've been buffing up my Pokemon, not me!" He cried, before running off back inside the boat like a twerp.

The battle was over, but I soon realized that it had been for nothing. As the small crowd began to disperse, I saw Red was nowhere in sight.


	15. Lv 15: Barriers

I found Red leaning against the railing near the back of the boat. He seemed to be alone, simply gazing at the stars in the night sky and their glimmering reflection on the surface of the water. Hesitantly, I wondered whether or not it was a good idea to approach him.

I'm not sure why I was so nervous and scared to though, why anything having to do with Red made me feel this way really. I'd never been like this before in my life. No matter how tough of an obstacle or opponent was, I never backed out of a challenge.

 _So what is it about Red that makes me feel so weak and vulnerable?_

"Blue?" Red looked back and noticed me, giving me no chance to second guess myself and runaway. "That was fast. Did you already beat that swimmer guy in battle?"

"Yeah." I answered, clearing my throat and joining him, now that I didn't really have much of a choice. "He wasn't much of a challenge."

"I really wouldn't have expected him to be." Red replied, looking back off into the distance. "Thanks, by the way."

"Thanks? Thanks for what?"

"For getting that guy to leave me alone." Red smirking back at me, purposefully making me feel awkward inside. "You definitely came just in time to my rescue."

"Oh please," I found myself replying back a bit angrily, "you could have easily gotten him to leave you alone if you wanted to."

"Wait, so are you jealous that I didn't?"

"NO!" Now I sounded way to defensive.

He laughed, to make matters worse, just before taking a short pause for me to cool down and get a better hold of myself.

"Well either way, thank you."

"Uh... no problem." _Damn it! Why am I blushing?_ "Anytime... I guess."

For a brief moment there, I thought I could actually gather enough courage to talk to Red like he was just another regular guy, but I had failed. Every time I opened my mouth, I sounded more and more like a pathetic twerp myself. Luckily for me, Red didn't seem to notice much, or at least pretended not to for my sake. Peaking over at him, he just stood quietly with a calming smile on his face.

"Blue! Look!"

"Huh?" I snapped out of confusion, for a moment, and looked down at the water to see what Red was hollering about.

At first, I didn't really see much, but then a faint glow began to emerge from the water. There were suddenly hundreds of beacons of light all around the boat, slowly growing with great intensity. Once I really got a good look at the odd spectacle, it didn't take me long to realize where it was coming from. The water was swarming with Tentacool. There were hundreds of them that could be seen gently swimming close to the surface of the water. The light that was being emitted came from the red spots on their jelly-like bodies.

"Whoa! They must using Barrier under the water." I explained.

"It's beautiful." Red replied, staring directly at me, catching me off guard. He noticed and chuckled. "You wouldn't expect to see such a wonderful thing from a Pokémon most people consider annoying and hate so much. I knew these waters were abundant with Tentacool, but I've never seen so many in one spot, and I've never seen them do something like this."

"They must have gathered here to mate and breed," I explained, beginning to get a bit nervous brining up the subject. "They must also feel threatened by the boat rushing past so close to them. That's why they're using Barrier to protect themselves."

Red looked back at the water in astonishment, and then back at me in amazement. "Gee, you really know your stuff, don't you?"

"Well, my grandfather is an expert on the matter, and I am trying to follow in his footsteps, to some extent."

"Is that why you're leaving?"

The way Red asked that, with the hint of sadness in his voice, managed to hit me in the gut a bit.

"I'm not sure why I'm leaving..." I said without thinking about it first. Already I could see what was coming, and I wasn't prepared to deal with it just yet.

"Blue," Red rested his hand on mine, "can we talk about what happened between us earlier?"

o


	16. Lv 16: Uproar

"I am so sorry," were the first words that came out of my mouth, as I pulled my hand from under his. "I don't know what came over me earlier."

 _Damn!_ All of a sudden, I couldn't even face Red. The look on his face suggested he was confused about my apology, but then again, he didn't understand my side of the story.

"You're sorry?" Red asked, as if he hoped I wasn't.

"Yeah, I am." I firmly replied. "That's not the way I should have acted... I mean—"

 _Damn! Where was I going with this?_

Listening to myself, I realized that I wasn't really explaining myself correctly. Beads of sweat began pouring down the side of my head as I struggled to find the right words to say.

 _If Blastoise hadn't warned us, if that Hiker hadn't interrupted us, there was no telling what I would have done with Red in that moment of weakness..._

"It's okay Blue." Red replied, looking up at the sky, as if defeated. "You know I was the one who kissed you first, right? I should be the one apologizing. I see it meant nothing to you. I get it."

"Now wait a minute!" I boldly raised my voice at him. "That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm just meant that... you and I shouldn't have... I mean, our first time should... No, I mean—"

In all my life I had never felt more frustrated, scared or intimidated by anything. Taking in a deep breath, I cleared my mind and tried to focus. Whenever I got myself in a difficult situation, I would do this to think of a rational solution out of it. I knew this wasn't the same as facing a strong opponent, or coming across a powerful and rare Pokémon in the wild, but it was just as, if not more, important than any of those things.

"Red," I slowly started off by saying, "I'm sorry for trying to force myself on you. I never meant to force you into doing anything with me. You don't have to apologize for anything. I just wanted to let you know what I felt."

The long pause that followed nearly killed me. Red seemed more shocked about it than I had anticipated. Looking back on it, he must have never felt, or had the slightest idea, that this was even an issue.

 _DAMN! I should have just kept my big mouth shut!_

"Oh, I see." He calmly replied, nervously tapping his fingers on the railing, and after what seemed like another never ending pause, he asked me something that caught me off guard again. "What about Daphne?"

"What?!"

"Nothing." Red shook his head and attempted to laugh, but a crack in his voice kept him from doing so. "It's nothing Blue. Forget I said anything. Forget we did anything. Just forget about it."

 _Just forget about it?_

Those words actually seemed to hurt more than help, especially coming from Red. I didn't just want to forget about it. With the blood in me coming to a boil, the last thing I would do was 'just forget about it'. Instead, I decided to actually do something.

"You did kiss me first, didn't you?" I quietly told him, turning the tables on the situation. "Are you sorry about what happened earlier?"

Red literally turned red. His eyes grew wide, just before answering.

"No, I'm not." He answered in a strong, firm voice. "Blue, I—"

Before he could finish, he paused and looked at me. I was confused, until I looked down and realized how much I was actually shivering. Perhaps it was because it had begun to get a little cold outside, though honestly it was probably more with how nervous I was finally talking about all this stuff with Red.

Suddenly I found myself wrapping in Red's, as he tried to comfort me and keep me warm.

"It's okay," He began to tell me, "let's go back inside."


	17. Lv 17: Passion

Holding onto Red's hand, he pulled me inside our room and closed the door behind us. The only light came from a dim lap by our beds and the moonlight that leaked in from the small, round window on the side of the wall. I sat down on the edge of his bed and waited for him to join me. When he finally did, I knew this would be our moment.

At first, we only stared at each other. No words were exchanged. Then he put his arm around me and pulled me in so that my head could rest in his shoulder. I grabbed a hold of his hand and moved as close to him as I could get. I tried my best to not to make him comfortable, even taking the liberty of moving my arm behind him and around his waist to let him get in a better position. As he held me tighter, my face pressed against his chest, and his face brushed against my hair.

Looking up at his gentle face, there was no way I could resist being this close with him this time. The only thing I wanted was to do was be there for him, to make him happy anyway I could.

"Blue..." Red began to whisper. "...I'm not sorry I kissed you."

Loosening myself up a bit from his grip, I leaned next to his ear.

"I'm not sorry I kissed you back either."

Red's lips were just as soft and warm as I remembered. His skin was warm too, just like before, only this time it seemed to burn the closer we got to each other.

"Wait, I don't want to do anything you don't want me to." Red hesitated, my shirt, which he had just pulled off of me a few seconds ago, still in his hand. "Blue, is this really what you want?"

"Is this what you want?" I asked him, hoping the answer wasn't no.

I could sense he was getting nervous, probably scared he might scare me off again. I really couldn't blame him. So, in hopes of reassuring him that it was fine with me, I helped him out of his shirt and reached for the zipper on his jeans.

"All I know," he replied back, taking his jeans off and pulling mine off in one swift move, "is that I want you."

Pulling him back in bed with me, I leaned in to kiss him again. It didn't feel odd anymore to do so. In fact, if anything, it felt right. It didn't take him long to realize start kissing me back passionately. Pulling back for a second, he stopped to look at me in the eyes and waited until I felt comfortable enough to open mine and stare back at him.

 _He really is adorable... and strong... and sexy..._

Before long, he was completely on top of me again, careful not to crush or harm me in anyway. With my arms wrapped around him, I began kissing him on the neck, slowly making my way up and down his body.

As we continued kissing and touching each other all over our body's, I gradually felt Red moving faster, harder, moving more aggressively than before. It reached a point that I could no longer keep quiet, but my low cries and squeals only seemed to fuel his desire to do more with me.

For a brief moment, he slowed down and looked at me, waiting for my approval of something. I stared back at him, a little confused, at first, before realizing and reassured him that I was ready.

With my permission, he continued kissing me on my neck as he made his way down towards my lower abdomen. Then he took it in his mouth, and it felt amazing. Something about the way he was so willing to pleasure me with so much care gave me even more pleasure. It all felt so good and seemed so right.

As amazing as it was receive, all I wanted was to share that sort of satisfaction with him. So when he was finished doing what he was doing, I turned us around so that I could return the favor. Once again I found that, as pleasurable as the act was for me, it was really seeing the pleasure I gave to Red that was the most satisfying.

After everything we did together, there was only one thing I could think of saying.

 _Red, I..._

...

The last thing I remember was falling asleep, while cuddling up against Red's chest.


End file.
